


Faded Ember

by ismellitblue



Series: Things We Lost In The Fire [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Anxiety, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dark, Gen, Hurt, Implied Mind Rape, Infinite Tsukuyomi, Insanity, Kiba is, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Mind Rape, Other, POV Haruno Sakura, POV Hiruzen Sarutobi, POV Umino Iruka, Reincarnation, Root - Freeform, Sakura is not an idiot, Turtle-ducks, Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, coup, mental health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 13:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19888648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ismellitblue/pseuds/ismellitblue
Summary: Thanks to Itachi's tsukuyomi, Sasuke's past life as a Joo Dee comes back to the surface-scary things happen.





	Faded Ember

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Avatar, or Naruto.

Men twice her size pinned her down,earth rained down on her ,and shackles made of rock encased her slim wrists.

“ ** _Obey Joo Dee_**!”They commanded ,a lamp moving round and round,and she spit in the face of the man in front of her.

How dare they! _She bowed to no one,feared no one, she would never obey._ She was?Wait,who was she?!She was….Joo Dee?No!No! No!She was not,She was…

A rock prison made its way up her body- _a standing live burial_ , and she panicked.Her breathing becoming erratic as she tried to escape.In the corner of her eye she caught sight of the flame in the lamp flickering wildly-matching her breathing.The final stones lodged around what was to be her grave,but the girl no longer cared, she could _feel_ the heat of the fire from beyond the wall.

No name, no identity,she didn’t even remember what she looked like.But in that moment none of that mattered,because she knew what she was.

_She was a dragon._

The thought was the last she ever had,in the next moment she pulled on the thinning air,connecting to the fire beyond her prison.

Terrified screams, and _heat-glorius heat_ , followed her as she crossed over to the spirit world.

***

Her parents tried to talk out of earshot,but since everyone in the village was talking about it-Sakura already knew.

Uchiha Itachi, one of the greatest geniuses in Konoha had killed his entire family.Only one person had survived,a boy in her class- _Uchiha Sasuke._

“He must be really strong!”Ino whispered while they shared lunch and Sakura couldn’t help but agree.

“Let’s be his friends when he comes back, having someone that cool as a friend will be awesome”They giggled at the thought of being playmates with him, and being the envy of the entire school.

A week passed and still no Sasuke,then a second week and then a third.The class’ anticipation started to wane, and the kids started talking about newer cooler things-none of them really understanding the gravity of the situation.

By the fourth week of Sasuke’s absence,most of them had even started to forget who the empty seat in the class belonged to.

***

Hiruzen knew something was wrong when the medic in charge of young Sasuke’s treatment came rushing into his office,flanked by Anbu.

“He’s awake,Hokage-sama”The man said,looking a little pale,Hiruzen’s eyes sharpened,the cold steel bleeding into his usual grandfatherly demeanor and the man paled even further.

“Does he remember anything?”

“No-”At that Hiruzen relaxed,letting his friendly mask slide back on as he picked up his pipe.

“Then whatever it is, we can handle it”

***

As it turned out- _they could not handle it._

Itachi’s younger brother stood in front of them, his posture perfect, his lips arranged into something that should have been welcoming-but it made Hiruzen’s hairs stand up. The boy’s were eyes perfectly blank.And not the blankness of someone hiding something or trying to act tough.It was a dead eyed stare that only corpses should have been able to pull of,yet the gaze was coming from a child that barely made it to Hiruzen’s waist .

“Honorable Hokage, revered elders,what a pleasure it is to have your audience”The boy bowed at that, a perfect ninety degree bow, and when he straightened,Hiruzen felt the room chill,growing colder the longer the boy just stood there.Watching all of them with his unnerving dead eyes.

‘Boy,we are sorry your brother slaughtered your clan”It was Danzo who spoke, and Hiruzen cast him a glare.He was still angry the other had moved so hastily-it would have been better to kill half the clan,and pretend to save the other half so as to bind them tighter to the village.

Looking back at the boy,Hiruzen was a surprised by the continued lack of reaction.The medics,and the Yamanaka had said it was shock,but surely,the mention of his loved ones should have elicited a response.

“Are you holding up well?”Hiruzen infused warmth into his voice,trying to get a reaction.

“Yes Hokage-sama, how can I not be well.The sun is out,birds fly and sing, and best of all, _there_ _is no war in Konoha_ ,”Something about the way the final statement was said,made all of them uneasy(did he know something?), but the boy’s face gave nothing away.

***

When Sasuke came back,it wasn’t in the dramatic door busting way from the movies ,that Sakura had expected.All it was, was her walking into class to find the others grouped around the boy,asking all sorts of questions while he blocked them out and focused on whatever he was reading.

The bell rang a few minutes later, and though Sasuke’s voice was level,all of them heard it.

“Students- _Please_ -the bell has gone off, return to your seats and prepare to acquire an education”For no reason at all,ice spread down Sakura’s back,and encased her lungs, making it difficult to breath.She moved to her chair quietly,noticing how the others were doing the same,all of them wide-eyed.Sasuke for his part,just sat there,back straight and focused on Iruka-sensei.

_What was that?_

***

Time went by and Sasuke didn’t play with any of them.Despite their promise to make him their friend in the beginning,she and Ino had taken to actively staying out of his way.

“He makes my soul hurt,Sakura”Ino had confided one day, and Sakura had quietly agreed-whenever Sasuke got too close,her inner,went suspiciously silent.

“Stay away from that boy Sakura”The inner had told her once and she’d been _shocked_.Her inner wasn’t afraid of anything.But if something about Sasuke unsettled the inner,then Sakura vowed to stay away.And she _did_ ,but her other classmates,weren’t so smart.

Kiba in particular,didn’t seem to have any common sense.

“Hey!Uchiha!”He yelled out as they ran across the field-the teachers were watching from the other side,but there it was just the kids.

“Yes,Inuzuka”Sasuke’s voice was _politely cold_ and distant , not even showing any strain despite the fact that the rest of them were out of breath from running .

“You think you’re better than us,cause you’re the only one of your kind.Always sitting away from everyone and acting like a princess”Akamaru whined pitifully,but Kiba just let out a carefree laugh,at finally having voiced what many of the other students had been saying behind Sasuke’s back.

In response,Sasuke turned his head in that slow,almost mechanical way of his, his lifeless almost smile still in place.

_“My apologies Inuzuka Kiba,I did not know you felt left out”_

“ _Tonight,I will visit your clan home.Together we will go through your **family pictures** , and you will tell me **their stories** and which manner of **death** is most suitable for them_”Sasuke tilted his head, and for a moment Sakura was certain she saw a hint of red in his eyes,but it was gone too quickly for her to be sure.

“ _Do not worry, I will not take long,come sunrise,you will be the **only** Inuzuka **left,** and you and I can discuss how that makes us better than everyone else, I have ginseng tea that would be perfect for the occasion, or maybe you’d enjoy some jasmine? _”

By now,the whole class had stopped moving,all of them staring at Sasuke in fear.Naruto for once was completely silent, and even Shikamaru was fully awake,standing in front of a trembling Chouji like a shield.

“ _My,my_ , we’ve broken formation”Most of the acidic chill was gone from his voice,but there was still enough coolness in it to make all them tense.

“It is best to resume running before the teachers take action”

“Come along children,let us continue”

_It was not a request._

All of them began moving, but around Sasuke there was a wide berth.No one even wanted to breath his cold , _burning_ air.

***

“ _He came to my house_ ”Kiba whispered, the rambunctious boy they’d gotten used to completely gone.

“Did he do anything?”It was Hinata-shy Hinata who asked,her hands shaking as she gripped her hair.

“No,”Kiba answered,but the haunted look in his eyes said otherwise.

“He was polite, _very polite_ ,and at the end of dinner he asked if I still wanted him to see the family album-right in front of my Mom,and _I-I_ -”Hands clamped painfully around Akamaru,Kiba clearly did not want to go into detail about exactly what had happened-those with sharp noses could smell the faint urine smell on him,but none of them said anything.

The others left him alone, and when Sasuke came in,they all went quiet,no one dared draw his attention ,all of them nodding in unison to his polite greeting,but otherwise trying their best to remain small.

***

In all his years,despite his profession Umino Iruka had never been as unsettled by a student as he was by Uchiha Sasuke.

At first glance,the boy was the perfect student,straight A’s,well behaved,polite to a fault.But when you looked past all that, you noticed the dead eyes,the never changing expression, and how since Sasuke had come back, all the plants they’d had by the windows had died,despite the boy never once letting out killing intent or any malevolent energy.

The elders and the medics said the boy had escaped unharmed, but Iruka had known Sasuke-the sweet child who liked bringing Iruka tomatoes when others gave apples.That child was _gone_.

Replaced by something that sucked the joy out of everything.Iruka had tried to talk to the Hokage about having Sasuke get help,but the old man had swiftly shut him down.

“He’s top of the class,and well behaved,what more do you want”And there’d been nothing Iruka could say to that without being disrespectful.

But his wariness of Sasuke grew day by day, and on days when they had sparring matches,Iruka grew even more on edge.You see,since coming back,Sasuke had a perfect record,he’d never lost a match, _yet he’d never once fought._

His first match up had been with a kid who had civilian parents.The little boy had taken one look at the smiling Uchiha,and urine had pooled at his feet.

_No one had laughed._

Even Naruto _,happy go-lucky Naruto,_ didn’t want to touch him.

“Something’s not right with him ,Iruka Sensei-he smells like _death_ ”The boy had said, his usually bright eyes dimming before he shook himself and went back to his ramen.Iruka had never gotten him to elaborate on his statement, the boy had simply refused to continue the conversation-something that had never happened before with Naruto and Iruka had let it go.

*** 

By the time Danzo realized how dangerous the boy was,it was already too late.

The Uchiha had wormed his way into root-he’d let Danzo indoctrinate him,playing at being a _lamb_ -Danzo hadn’t even seen the fangs until he’d already been struck.The creature hadn’t even waited for Danzo to fully die,before moving on, the elder’s final moments had been the sight of his life’s work, _his Root_ ,bowing to someone else.

***

When the elders had started turning up dead,Hiruzen had known something was up.But,they’d made so many enemies in their time,he hadn’t even known where to start.Danzo had mentioned having a possible lead, but the next day,he’d gone missing- and in the Shinobi world,that usually meant a brutal ending had occurred.

The village was in a panic,and unlike the Uchiha massacre, it wasn’t something that could be controlled.

All the corpses of the elders had been left in strategic places(the main temple, the academy,the hospital), only becoming visible at peak hours,making it impossible for the Anbu to clean up the mess without any witnesses.

People wanted answers,word had reached the Daimyo and he too was on the Hokage’s case,demanding an explanation.

It had been weeks since he’d had time to rest, he hadn’t even been able to take his weekly walks with Konohamaru.Sighing as he stared down at yet another scroll containing useless information, he leaned back,closing his eyes and taking a puff from his pipe.

“It’s a pleasant evening Hokage-sama,why do you look so stressed?”The tone was gentle,raised just enough to sound corncened, but that did absolutely nothing for the coldness that settled over the old man at the sound of it.

“ _Uchiha Sasuke,”_

***

The child sat in the opposite chair like he’d always been there, his gaze unblinking.

With the final pieces of the puzzle falling into place,Hiruzen straightened, regarding the boy with the full stare of a shinobi, all traces of the soft spoken persona he normally used completely gone.

“What you have done,is treason, Konoha has no place for such treachery,”Sasuke put his elbows on the table,cradling his cheeks and tilting his head to the side-the childlike gesture too measured to be genuine.

“Do you like ducks?”The question threw him for a loop, and it was only years of diplomacy that kept his face blank.

“I like ducks,when they burn,their quacks are so funny,but I always feel like they’re missing something-like a turtle shell,”The boy tilted his head again,resting it on his other hand,and Hiruzen caught not only a hint of red in his eyes, but also… _gold_?

“I think when you burn turtle-ducks, the shell would explode outward, exposing the soft flesh and insides, leaving the turtle-duck to cook itself,”This was said with a wistful smile(the first true expression,Hiruzen had seen on Uchiha Sasuke in years)-the boy was _unhinged._

But crazy as he was,he’d proven himself a threat- which meant Hiruzen had to end him-as a favour to Itachi he’d make it quick and painless.

He made to stand,a severing Jutsu already in his hand, when two pairs of arms held him down-the room was suddenly full.

The very Anbu that were supposed to be guarding him, standing against him.

“What is this?!”He hissed.

“Pardon me,Hokage-sama, how rude of me, I’d assumed you hadn’t gone senile in your old age,”

“ _This,_ is what a coup looks like,”The blankness left the boy’s eyes and it was replaced by something- _other_ -the look of a natural predator having cornered its prey.The boy stood then,running claw-like nails over the desk as he made his way around it.

“I’ve always wondered if burning an old man,could compare to roasting a turtle-duck.Sasuke snapped his fingers and instead of an orange-yellow flame, his palm was coated in pale blue fire.

“Try not to scream,every scream is a new grave for a member of the Sarutobi clan,you don't want to be responsible for the _massacre_ of your entire clan do you?”

**Author's Note:**

> So, in this story,Long Feng tried to mind bend Azula-as you can tell from the first part-it didn't end well.I've had this(and many others) on my pc for some time,so i decided to just post it-what do you guys think?


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